Lelouch: The game of masks
by TerraMarine
Summary: Ever since he wore that mask, Zero has constantly been there. In his dreams, Lelouch is beset by the masked man, forcing him to play chess and answer for his decisions.


Lelouch: The Game of Masks

Deep within the brig of the Avalon its sole prisoner waited, curled up on the cot and glaring at the wall across from him. Lelouch vi Britannia, exiled prince and revolutionary could feel his doom slowly approaching, every second that ticked by seemed to stretch into hours and simply gave the boy more time to dwell on the past.

Even with everything he had planned for, he couldn't predict every single possible outcome, someone using his little sister against him was one such thing. He gritted his teeth from one detail; that he had lost his knights, his Sister, his Ace… everything was gone.

He could feel himself drifting, finding it hard to keep his eyes open. Sleep was setting in and Lelouch dreaded it, knowing that his mind would torture him for the rest of his remaining life about this single day.

The room dissolved, giving way to a dark red void, surrounding a table and two chairs. He glanced down, seeing that his restraint jacket had now become his Ashford uniform. Pushing himself up for the now invisible cot, he walked towards it, his footsteps echoing within this brooding place. Upon approaching the table, he saw upon it a fully laid out chess set, the Black side was missing its king piece, to which he took a seat behind the white pieces, assuming whatever was to follow would explain.

As soon as he sat, footsteps started approaching the table, and from the void emerged himself, only dressed as Zero. Lelouch had already figured out how this dream was formulating.

"So… Zero? Is this my punishment? Will I be visited by myself whenever I close my eyes? Will I be locked in a never ending chess match with myself?" Lelouch asked as Zero sat down, retrieving the King piece from his cape and placing it down where it belonged. He didn't wait for a response, hand moving forward to take on of his pieces.

"Tokyo, the Black Rebellion. Our final victory which you threw away because of V.V.'s gamble." He started, causing Lelouch to pause as his hand hovered over one of his Knights. "You really thought I would simply let her be threatened? She was the entire reason I started this revolution!" He moved the left hand Knight up to the right. He was judging himself, how arrogant that his mind felt that he answered only to himself.

Zero, moving quickly and precisely, took the pawn in front of the King and moved it out a single space. "Yet what happened? You were captured, Nunnally was hidden away and the Black Knights were all but destroyed. Not only that but you gave Suzaku Kururugi a decisive advantage. You were baited by them and dived right in."

Lelouch glared at the visor of his opponent, taking the furthest pawn on the right and moving it forward two squares. "She was my top priority, I deemed Tohdoh capable of leading in my stead."

"Tohdoh is a field commander; he can lead his sector, not an entire war effort. Not only that you took the greatest assets your forces had beyond the Guren out of the picture." Zero moved the Queen out from behind his line towards the far right edge. Normally such a move would be easily brushed aside by Lelouch, however, in this dreaming, listless state, he couldn't control his movements.

Lelouch fought his hand going to the Knight, rather than aim for the Queen. "Also, the Avalon was operating in the area, something which only the Gwain would have been able to fight against. Instead you allowed it free reign instead of your area of the operations!" Sliding his hand over the lines, Zero took hold of the Bishop, moving it the other side of the board from his Queen.

Lelouch felt himself going for the Rook, moving it forward behind the Pawn. As he let go, the pieces changed, the rook had become Tohdoh, the queen, which sat frozen behind the Pawns was Kallen, and the king was him. Zero took the bishop and lanced forward, taking the piece guarding the King.

"Lelouch, your recklessness and lack of conviction concerning Nunnally cost you everything. She might have been your reason to start fighting, but the fight was against Britannia, for the Japanese, for everyone who deserved Justice. Only you could have given the repressed people of the world their victory and you threw it all away for your blind crippled sister." He leaned forward, placing a finger on top of the King, and pushed it back, sending it off the table and onto the floor. "Checkmate Lelouch. You deserve the fate you will receive, you impudent fool."

Gasping and struggling, Lelouch fell from the cot and crashed onto the cold floor of his cell. From this position he could no long feel any vibration, the ship must have arrived in the homeland.

As if on que, the door opened to reveal Suzaku, a glare plastered on his face that dripped with pure resentment. "It's time Lelouch, only one man can decide your fate now…"

-xxx-

AN:

After a very Helpful review, I made the decision to make a few edits and change the opening of this piece, considering the timeframe and content.

The Idea behind me using Fool's mate was to show just how broken Lelouch is now. He has hit rock bottom and is sure his death is approching. No one would be at their best in that situation. Also, it's a Nightmare and they never go the way you would want if you were aware, right?

Thanks to any views and reads. Any and All reviews will be read and replied to, even ones saying "This sucks". but I hope they would have more to that in any case.


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